Managing the ‘Own Goal’ Crisis

Any soccer fan, or “football supporter” if you prefer, has agonized over their team (“side”) giving up an “own goal.”

What is an own goal? According to Goal.com, “The term ‘own’ is used to describe the moment when a player accidentally or deliberately puts the ball into their own net. Own goals can arise out of a misjudgement [sic], such as when a player attempts to head the ball to their goalkeeper or put the ball out of play, or misfortune, when a player is the victim of a wicked deflection or freak incident.”

I call crises that people bring upon themselves “own goal crises.” Like soccer own goals, they come from misjudgment or misfortune — or both. And, like the ones in soccer, they can cause agony, heartbreak, agita and job loss.

As a communicator, you will undoubtedly face at least one own goal crisis in your career. Someone you work for, or with, will say the wrong thing to a reporter, release the rough draft of a statement instead of the final version, get caught on a hot mic confessing what they “really think,” or do something they shouldn’t be doing because they falsely believe they are too clever to get caught. And you will have to deal with the ensuing chaos while the malefactor wonders why everyone is getting “so worked up.”

So, how do you manage these crises?

Prevent them, as much as you can. 

Obviously, this is the hardest of all the pieces of advice I’ll be giving here. Getting in front of your boss before they do or say something stupid is challenging, to put it mildly. The best way you can do this is to be a trusted adviser to them, not just “the person who writes the press releases.” 

Through your work, and good counsel, position yourself to be someone they turn to before they act. You want to be the adviser whom they ask “if we do this, what are the public image implications?” 

Explain, politely, why this is a problem. 

In my career, I’ve had to tell bosses, clients, colleagues and direct reports why what they did, or planned to do, was one of the worst ideas I had ever heard. I just didn’t say it that way. Have your facts at hand. Lay out what you expect to happen based on what they are proposing.

For example, a client in the middle of an active own goal crisis wanted to have someone launch an investigation into the people investigating them. Instead of yelling “are you out of your mind?,” I calmly explained that this would be seen as a move solely to distract, and would also keep the media coverage of their crisis alive another day. 

Be ready to apologize. 

While I advise apologizing in most crises, in an own goal it is almost always necessary. You, or your organization, messed up. Whatever the extenuating circumstances, the bottom line is the basis of this crisis is your fault. Own it. Admit it. Apologize for it. A well-done, sincere (no “if I offended anyone” nonsense), and timely apology allows you to start moving past it and repair the damage.

Fix the problem. 

Another “it goes without saying but I’m going to say it anyway” piece of advice. People sometimes want to drag their feet dealing with an own goal. They’re embarrassed. They have to admit they messed up. They hope they can pull the covers over their heads and it will go away. Most likely, it won’t. Get out there, clean up your mess and start fresh. 

There will be times when you want to publicize that you cleaned it up – if the story is already getting a ton of coverage, or if doing so represents an important policy change you’re implementing. Other times, you’ll want to do it quietly, trying not to remind people how you messed up in the first place.

Don’t race to fire someone. 

Lately, companies and organizations have been very quick to fire someone because of a transgression — this replaced the model of ignoring complaints or errors until public sentiment required someone to be let go. Firing the offender is always an option, even if the offender is the founder of the organization or head of the company. 

But it shouldn’t be the first option. Work internally to prevent a recurrence (see next tip), and ensure the offender has learned from the mistake. However, if it involves something extraordinarily damaging to the organization’s reputation (racist diatribe caught on video, lack of concern about a problem that hurt people, etc.), quietly dismiss the offender.

Try to prevent the next one. 

When things have settled down, work with your client or bosses to avoid this happening again. Do you need someone else to check everything before it goes out the door? Can they discuss their plans with you before implementing them? Have they learned that anytime they are in public they should assume all mics are hot and all phones are recording? Become the person I wanted you to be in the first tip.

Be prepared to quit. 

I love crises. I love helping people through crises. But I quit a job because there was a new crisis every day, each one self-inflicted. The unrelenting own goals gave me a stress headache the second I walked into my office building. Eventually, and fortunately, I found a better-paying job and was able to leave. Be ready to do the same. 

As a PR counselor, your number one asset is your reputation. If that gets tarnished, your future in the profession is in jeopardy. Don’t run right out the door at the first signs of trouble, but don’t be afraid to go if you think things won’t improve.

Own goals are frustrating to deal with. You want to scream “what were you thinking?,” sometimes to yourself. But they are survivable. Just like in soccer, you’re down a goal, but you haven’t lost the game.